If you are an employee at a public sector institution in Saskatchewan and you think a wrongdoing is planned or has happened in your workplace, you can disclose this information to our Office or to a designated officer at your workplace. Once you do so, you are protected from reprisals.

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Is your workplace included?

If you work for a ministry, the executive council, a secretariat or other similar agency of the executive government of Saskatchewan, or for any of the authorities, agencies, boards, commissions, Crown corporations, offices and other government institutions listed in Part 1 of the Appendix to The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Regulations, then the protections in The Public Interest Disclosure Act are available to you. For example, if you work for the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, the Highway Traffic Board, the Provincial Capital Commission, the Crown Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan, or the Office of Residential Tenancies, then the Act applies to you.

What is a wrongdoing?

A wrongdoing under The Public Interest Disclosure Act could be any of the following:

• a contravention of a statute or regulation.
• an action or omission that creates a substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of any person (other than danger inherent to the work), or to the environment.
• gross mismanagement of public funds or assets.
• directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing.

If you have information that you believe could show that a wrongdoing has been committed or is about to be committed, or if you have been asked to commit a wrongdoing, you can disclose this information to the designated officer in your workplace or to the commissioner. You do not have to make your disclosure internally first; you can make your disclosure directly to our Office if you want to. (If your workplace has been granted an exception from appointing a designated officer, our Office is the only place you can make your disclosure to.)

If you are thinking about making a disclosure and you have questions, you are welcome to contact us at 1-800-667-9787 to seek advice.

Protection from Reprisals

If you are experiencing reprisals because you sought advice, made a disclosure, participated in a wrongdoing investigation or refused to participate in a wrongdoing, you can make a complaint of reprisal to us and ONLY to us. We can investigate your complaint and determine whether to make recommendations.

What is a reprisal?

Under The Public Interest Disclosure Act, reprisals include:

• dismissal
• layoff
• suspension
• demotion or transfer
• discontinuation or elimination of a job
• change of a job location
• reduction in wages
• change in hours of work
• reprimand
• any other measure that adversely affects your employment or working conditions
• threats to take any of these measures

If you are thinking about making a complaint of reprisal and you have questions, you are welcome to contact us at 1-800-667-9787.